Jobs 

Bernanke says Unemployment Rate Understates the Jobs Crisis:  Last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, speaking at a Senate hearing, said that the recent decline in the unemployment rate understates the true weakness in the job market. According to Bernanke, “It is very important to look not just at the unemployment rate, which reflects only people who are actively seeking work. There are also a lot of people who are either out of the labor force because they don’t think they can find work… The 8.3 percent no doubt understates the weakness of the labor market in some broad sense.”

Spending

Debt Limit Increases by $5 Trillion Under Obama: On January 27, 2012, the legal limit on our nation’s debt increased by $1.2 trillion after the Senate failed to approve a House-passed motion to block the hike. The debt limit is now $16.4 trillion while our national debt stands at $15.2 trillion. This represents the sixth increase in the debt limit since President Obama took office three years ago, compared to seven increases in eight years under President Bush (43).  Since President Obama took office, the debt limit has grown from $11.3 trillion to $16.4 trillion, an increase of 45 percent.

Medicare

Docs Not Confident in Future of Medicare:  A December 2011 survey of doctors by Deloitte’s Center for Health Solutions reveals only one-third (33%) of doctors believe President Obama’s health reform has enhanced the solvency of the Medicare program.

The Republican Plan for Job Creation and Growth

House Republicans have a plan to restore confidence and certainty to the economy and create jobs.  For more information on the House Republican Growth Plan, click here: http://www.gop.gov/indepth/jobs.